habitual operation

kevtim

kevtim

Active member
I've just finished going through the instruction manual for the DVX100b and I more or less understand how everything works on it. Well apart from the internal workings of the scene files but I'm sure that'll come with time. For now I'll stick with the pre-sets.

Anyway... up until this point I've been shooting with a bog standard cheap DV camcorder and now things seem a little more complex. I'm taking the camcorder out for a spin this weekend and wondered if anybody could suggest a good systematic habit to get into, kind of like a mental check list before filming. For example:

Power the cam up, set the scene file, switch to manual operation, white balance the cam, sort out the iris, then the shutter speed, ND filters if needed etc (I'd probably apply the ND filter first if really bright then sort the rest of the settings out later)...

Can anybody give me any advice on this? I can imaging getting a little overwhelmed at the over abundance of optional settings when its time to start shooting. I know this is all probably second nature to you folks but I would really appreciate some help!

Thanks
Kevin
 
I'll give this a go at answering, might be useless though.

The list you have is good, just make sure you storyboard what you are shooting. Do practice shots, rehersals etc... Have a style in mind that you want to shoot in. Have every single shot planned and written down before you start filming. Then you dont have to worry too much.

Having the most basic things set out on paper or a laptop is critical to achieving your final goal.

If you know how every shot should look and how you want to move the camera and the actors, then you can research everything you need to know about your camera on these forums or learning from experience. You can research every shot you want and then build up your knowledge from what you want to achieve.

I'll stop rambling on now. I am new to filming, I am still learning a lot. I find that being on a shoot you learn the most. So try writing some shorts and get out there and see what you need to learn.

Hope this makes sense....if it doesnt.....sorry haha.

Mark
 
I completely agree with you! I've got a few projects coming up and one is a short film for a music video working with a local band. They have the script in there "heads" but I've made it clear to them that I need it on paper before we start shooting. I want to meet up with them once a week to nail the narrative before we even start thinking about filming or going to look at locations for filming... Then comes the story boarding... I think I put them off a bit with all the talk of hard work! hahaha!

However I was more or less talking about spontaneous kind if situations. For example I'm planning on filming a bicycle trials video for 2011 all around the country. This will involve being a bit more fluid and reacting to conditions quickly on the day, what the riders are doing etc... I just want to make sure I can set up the camera effectively and efficiently without any messing and in the right order so I'm not missing any action.
 
Always, always, always check exposure, framing, and focus before you start recording. White balance the camera each time you move it to a different spot, especially if the lighting has changed at all. And if shooting outdoors and the sun becomes covered by a cloud, check the white balance. If you need to track exposure through a shot, the iris wheel is conveniently located where the thumb can stay close by.

Record for 5 seconds before "action" and for 5 seconds after "cut." It's a common mistake for beginners to roll right as the action starts and to stop recording right after the last word or crucial movement, which leaves little or no padding for transitions in editing. The 5-second rule (not the one about food on the floor) gives you plenty of heads and tails in post.

Always confirm that the numbers are moving when you hit record. I can't tell you how many times I've "double-clutched" the record button and stopped recording when I thought I'd started or started when I thought I'd stopped. Look for moving time code (unless you're using free-run, which is always running) and your record tally light.

Learn how to manage time code on your tapes. You can custom-set time code, and should use that feature. For your first tape on any given project, start the time code at 01:00:00;00. Switch tapes before the hour rolls over, and start the next tape at 02:00:00;00. Start the third tape at 03:00:00;00, and so on. This helps with tracking footage in post, as you'll know which reel any given clip is from based on the hour mark. This is helpful if you have to go back to the tapes at any point and re-capture footage.

Starting with custom time code means that you need to set your TC first-run to write (generate) instead of read. As soon as you have the first couple of shots on tape, switch back to read. I'll explain that shortly.

Run 30 seconds of color bars at the head of each tape. While you may or may not use them for color alignment in post, the other function this serves is to protect your footage. The first stretch of tape is susceptible to damage over time because it winds unevenly around the tape reel. This is due to the anchor of the tape in the hub, which causes a lump in the tape for the first few layers. Running bars ensures that anything you absolutely cannot lose is past the vulnerable area of the tape.

If you must stop and review a shot during production, make sure that your time code is set to read. This is the other place where your 5-second rule comes in handy. Make sure to re-cue the tape within that 5-second tail of the last shot on the tape before you start recording again. This will ensure that the camera maintains a constant TC stream, picking up the new recording from the last frame before the recording. If you're in read mode, it will start with the last TC value stored in memory and will cause a TC break in the tape.

Furthermore, if for any reason you decide that you need to go back to a previous tape that isn't full and add a few shots (not advisable, but I've seen it done... and incorrectly), having TC in read will pick up the earlier tape at its last TC value. If you're on tape 14 and you go back to record on tape 7 without switching to TC read, tape 7 will have a TC jump from 07 to 14 on the hour mark, which can cause confusion later.

Last, but certainly not least, watch your audio record levels and - this is a must - listen as you record. Get a good pair of headphones. Monitor your audio as you shoot, just as you monitor your video. When you hear a problem, that is the time to fix it. The edit bay is the last place you want to find a problem, since it will be too late to do anything about it.
 
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The biggest thing I can throw in is get a copy of Barry's DVX book (and DVD if you can find it). I don't know if it's still in print, but search around and you'll find Barry posting all over here, check his sig for a contact.

The book is full of great info that goes far beyond the manual, and the DVD shows you examples of more esoteric settings like master ped, knee, etc - things you'll want to know to finesse shots and limit color correction in post.

DVX audio is fantastic, and it will really, really shine with good input - look into a good mic or lav if you're doing dramatic stuff. Learn about proper levels & turn off the auto gain control.

Guitar Center and online shops have been selling HD201 headphones for about $30 - this is a great set of cans for the $$, closed-back (masks out sounds around you and keeps any headphone audio from bleeding back into the mics) and though I bought some for recording other musicians, they hold up well for mixing, close to my prized "vintage" Sennhesiers.

I've shot several music videos, and I can tell you that even stick-figure storyboards can save you a lot of "empty holes" in your edit (if you're doing some sort of allegorical "drama" footage along with performance).

Also, for music vids, you really really really REALLY need someone managing the playback that the band lip synchs to. Someone familiar with the song, and you need something like quicktime on a laptop where specific points of the song can be isolated and even looped (quicktime pro does this, but there are software solutions that allow you to put markers on the song like verse, chorus, solo, etc). It is really handy when trying to get a performance and camera move for a short phrase to just loop that phrase several times (with extra beats of in and out) and just repeat without pausing - musicians can get into the groove much easier that way. You'll find you're constantly asking for "the first 2 bars of the 2nd verse" until you have a take you want, and you need someone who will quickly fire that section up.

You also need a click track for your backing track - 2 bars of click that leas up to the first chord or note - even if the song starts with just, say, a solo acoustic guitar, the musician is not going to know the beat to start performing (lip synching or hand synching) without that. ASK THE BAND to have their recording engineer supply a version of the song with a click at the beginning - you don't need it for the whole song (it becomes irritating very quickly); only if, say, there's a break of silence and the band then kicks back in, and for the intro.

You need to make sure the playback is audible and clear on your footage - usually the internal mic is fine, but you may want to use the DVX internal on one channel and run a line-in from the playback system into the other channel.

Playback sound system can be anything that takes an audio feed from your playback laptop - from a pair of desktop computer speakers for an acoustic, to the band's practice PA if a drummer is going to synch with his drums and needs to hit hard to look "real". In the case of loud playback, a dedicated line is really handy for clear audio. Get a cheap wireless and reverse it - transmitter at the playback desk and receiver on your cam - and you won't be constrained by a cable (you can get a wireless for $50 on eBay - it's crap but works fine for synch, or get an AT88W used - those are pretty useable until you get a big-bucks wireless.)

Remember that amplifier pilot lights should be on, guitars plugged in, and the vocal mic should have a cable!

To synch audio in your NLE, you can get software to automate it, but I've found it's really easy to do by ear. Bring your footage into your NLE and bin it into a bunch of folders - I do stuff like "intro", and then folders names with a couple lines of lyrics, and number them - "01 guitar into", "02 band comes in", "03 baby I can see", "04 you're a lesbian like me", etc - that way your footy is in order and easy to grab.

Stick the click-tracked audio on your timeline, and listen to each clip as you align them - you'll hear an "echo" that gets shorter as you get closer - just use keyboard commands to slide footage by frames - three forward, two back, etc. You'll find being a frame or two off rarely matters, but it's quick to get spot-on. If the audio on your footage came from a mic, it may sound oddly phase-shifted, but when your footage is aligned, mute the footage tracks and check your work.

When it's all good, replace the click-track audio with the real CD track - you may have to slide this around, but once it's synched at any one point, it should be solid throughout.

Hope that helps!
 
Wow lots of brilliant advice here so firstly thanks, really appreciate it! To begin with C2V:

The exposure I take it is most dependent on iris and shutter speed? I have read a fair bit about using a gray card to get the correct exposure (so the colours aren't washed out or muted), however I didn't come across anything in the instruction manual about setting the exposure with a gray card. How do you use a gray card with the dvx and is it something quite different to setting the white balance?

I will definitely look into setting the timecode as it sounds pretty darn useful and practical, and I'll get into the habit of using the colour bars for 30sec when starting a new tape. Although I have to admit I'm not quite sure how to record the colour bars. Is it just a matter of hitting record after the colour bars pop up on the LCD screen after selecting the assigned user button (I'll test this out in the morning). Also I'll get some good headphones to monitor the sound whilst shooting! Thanks C2V!

Ok moving on to Carter:

I actually have the DVX book but after five pages in realized the technical jargon might be a bit much at this stage... things like gamma and Y/CR/CB signals... I do intend to read it all however (whilst googling my way through the book).

I'll learn about the audio also... Can you suggest a good mic to use? And cheers on the cans, hoping to find some cheap on ebay to use... Thankfully there will be no lip syncing or live filming of the band playing in anyway for the whole narrative. Its just a 10min silent about the meaning of the song with there track accompanying the vid. But thanks anyway there is an abundance of info for me to think about if I ever need to do it! I believe I will end up doing this in the not to distant future anyway so I'll know who to talk to if I need help :)

Cheers guys, can't tell you how helpful this has been!
Kev
 
Regarding mics - there's tons of info and shootouts in the audio thread, and if you're ever recording live audio get "producing great sound for digital video" or a similar book.

The main thing is garbage in - garbage out; foremost you want low impedance mics that use balanced cables - the cables with the 3-pin XLR jack that the DVX sports two of. These give you longer cable runs with shielding for noise and a noise-canceling wiring setup.

You can get a used Sure SM57 or 58 cheap and those are decent mics; you really want phantom-powered condenser mics in most cases though (and the DVX has switchable phantom power). Most people believe the Oktava MC-012 is the best deal for an interior set vocal capture mic, about $200. For outdoors most people favor shotguns, which are not "zoom mics", but they reject most sound to the sides so are kind of "aim-able". However, shotguns pick up a fair amount of sound at the rear of the mic, so using indoors can capture sound reflecting off the ceiling or walls. There's a wealth of info and opinions regarding mics though, read up if you're buying.

Your main goal with mics is getting as close to the source without being in the shot - sticking one on your camera is generally a waste of time. Wireless lavs are very useful but there's often some audio compromise and they are very very pricey; I own the AT-88W set which is "hobbyist" level (I'm not an audio guy by any stretch) but is considered "useable for the $$" (about $100) and some pro's use them in instances where the gear may get wet or damaged.

Capturing audio properly is a discipline unto itself, and there's definitely a learning curve. I'd say, learn to make the DVX sing visually first - the things you learn are directly transferable to more modern cameras.
 
Brilliant! Thanks Michael, I went playing with the DVX today to experiment and the image quality is amazing! I'll definitely master the visual side of things first! Started reading the DVX book as well and its extremely useful!

Thanks again for the help!
Kev
 
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